


A Helping Hand

by starrnobella



Series: Starr-Crossed Adventures [51]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Gen, Spiders, Wizarding Crossover Connection's Cast the Dice 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26554681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrnobella/pseuds/starrnobella
Summary: Upon the discovery of a spider taking up residence in her kitchen, Luna stumbled into her unusual neighbor.
Relationships: Luna Lovegood & Sheldon Cooper
Series: Starr-Crossed Adventures [51]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/972084
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: Cast the Dice 2020





	A Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FaeOrabel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeOrabel/gifts).



> A/N: This was written for my 4s score in Wizarding Crossover Connection's #CastTheDice20 event for the trope Neighbor AU.
> 
> Beta work was done by Grammarly
> 
> Thank you to FaeOrabel for suggesting this character combination for me!
> 
> Be sure to let me know what you think!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

Luna Lovegood had moved to Pasadena, California, a few months after she graduated from Hogwarts. When the job offer arrived for CalTech's teaching position in the Humanities Department, she was beyond excited. It was a chance to explore another portion of the world and expand her horizons beyond the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. She didn't dream of a job at the Ministry like so many of her peers dreamt.

Since moving to Pasadena, Luna had kept to herself for the most part. She had a few friends at work, and she was aware of her neighbors in her apartment building. However, she didn't know anyone well.

That fact was regrettable in her current situation as she stared at the upside-down vase with the Humanities textbook weighting the vase down sitting in the middle of her kitchen floor. Trapped inside of the vase was a giant spider. It was larger than any spider that she had ever encountered in her life.

Usually, she wasn't afraid of spiders. She loved spiders. But something was terrifying about this spider. Luna looked down at the vase and saw the spider sitting on the floor with the glass trapping him. She couldn't see its eyes, but she was sure it was watching her every move.

Luna slowly made her way toward the front door of her apartment and dashed out into the hallway. As she dashed down the stairs, she ran into something. She stumbled back, falling onto the stairs startled.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, pushing herself off the step and looking down at the man standing a few steps away from her. "I was running away from a spider in my apartment, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Are you okay?"

He just stared at her for a few moments. "Who are you? I've never seen you in this building before."

Luna looked him up and down, furrowing her brow as she cocked her head to the side. "I'm Luna Lovegood," she said, reaching a hand out to him. "I moved into apartment 5A last week. I'm the new Humanities professor at CalTech. What's your name?"

He looked at her hand for a moment and then back up to her face, never reaching out to shake her hand. "I'm Dr. Sheldon Cooper. I'm a theoretical physicist at CalTech."

Luna pulled her hand back slowly with a nervous smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Sheldon Cooper. This may sound like a weird question, but are you afraid of spiders?"

"Why would I be afraid of spiders?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"They are hairy, creepy, crawly ninjas that sneak up on you out of the middle of nowhere and then disappear into thin air," Luna replied, furrowing her brow. "So, you aren't afraid of spiders?"

Sheldon stared at her with a puzzled look on his face. "You can step on a spider to kill it, and you would never have to worry about it again. What is there to be afraid of?"

Luna opened her mouth to respond but closed it almost immediately. She was beginning to realize that she was fighting a losing battle. In fact, the more she interacted with Dr. Sheldon Cooper, the more she realized that she had already been informally introduced to him at the university. Her colleagues always talked about one of the researchers in the physics department, who was a tad abrasive.

"Look, if you aren't afraid of spiders, will you do me a favor?" she asked.

"I don't know you, so why would I do you a favor?" Sheldon retorted, looking down at the watch on his wrist.

"Because it's the neighborly thing to do," Luna replied. "Besides, you wouldn't turn down a woman in need of help, would you?"

Sheldon thought about it for a split second and slowly nodded his head. "I can not turn down a damsel in distress, lead the way," he said, motioning her back up the stairs.

A smile beamed brightly from Luna's face as she turned on her heels and began walking back up the stairs towards her apartment. She glanced back over her shoulder to make sure Sheldon was still following her. "I trapped the spider under a vase to keep it from escaping, so you should be able to get rid of it quite easily."

"If you wouldn't have trapped it, then the spider would probably have left your apartment when you ran down the stairs," Sheldon mused, following close behind her up the stairs.

"Or it could have been hiding in wait to attack me while I slept," Luna grumbled, rolling her eyes as they reached her front door. She pushed the door gently, and it swung open.

"You shouldn't leave your door unlocked," Sheldon said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Point taken," Luna replied, taking a deep breath. "The vase in the middle of the kitchen. I don't care what you do with it; I just want the spider out of my apartment."

"I can't just walk into your apartment without being invited," Sheldon replied, furrowing his brow.

"Dr. Cooper, won't you please come inside," Luna said, batting her lashes at him.

"I'd be delighted to," Sheldon said, smiling as he walked past her into the apartment. He made his way to the kitchen and spotted the vase she had mentioned in the middle of the kitchen. He noticed the small spider lying in wait underneath the glass and shook his head. "It's a common arachnid."

"I'm not concerned about the type of spider," Luna insisted, wrapping her arms around her waist as she watched him slip a piece of paper under the vase and spider. A shiver ran down her spine when he picked the vase up off the ground and turned to her window. "Normally, bugs and creatures don't bother me. But there's something about that."

Sheldon looked back at her over his shoulder momentarily as he neared the window. He placed the vase down on the window sill as he opened the window a crack before picking the vase back up and sticking it outside.

Luna watched as the spider fell to the ground, and Sheldon closed the window quickly. With a sigh of relief, Luna felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and smiled. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Sheldon replied, nodding his head slowly. "You know it's customary to offer your guests a beverage when they enter your home."

"Can I get you something to drink, Dr. Cooper?" Luna asked, smirking as she fought the urge she felt to roll her eyes.

"No, thank you," he quipped. "I must be going. It was nice to meet you, Luna Lovegood. I look forward to seeing you around the university."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Cooper," Luna said, watching as Sheldon made his way toward the door. She waved and smiled as he left, pulling the door shut behind him. "Now, I understand why my colleagues warned me about him."


End file.
